Cardiovascular disease remains the dominant cause of morbidity and mortality in this country. The explosion of scientific discovery and the growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease (due to the aging of the population and the increasing rate of diabetes) demand a novel breed of cardiovascular investigator equally capable of understanding state-of-the-art molecular research and translating it to patient care. The primary objective of this multidisciplinary Clinical Research Skills Development Core training program is the development of independent clinician-scientists competent to critically utilize the principles of basic and applied clinical cardiovascular research to bridge the current gap between basic discovery and clinical practice and develop improved and novel therapeutic strategies designed to alleviate and prevent cardiovascular disease. The Core will benefit all projects in the proposed SCCOR at Washington University.